SUPERFOODS TO MAKE YOU LIVE LONG TIME

Last night I was watching PBS and there were some shows featuring Gary Null, PhD. For those of you who don't know Gary Null, he's basically a health food guru who believes that aging, cancer, heart disease, depression, and most other ailments are caused in part by unhealthy food; and that these processes can be reversed by changing the diet.
I think you have to take Gary Null with a grain of salt, or spirulina, to some degree- some of his statements, or rather about 50% of them, are conjecture, and not supported by science. But overall, I think he's still a positive force, because the other 50% of what Gary Null says is pretty accurate. What impresses me is that he's been talking about the wonders of nuts, honey, berries, peppers, and other nutrients for over 30 years- and every year there are more studies in the medical literature showing benefits of these food. If Gary Null is 50% correct today, he might be 60% correct next year, and so on. On balance, I think he is worth checking out.
Last night's show was on Gary Null's 15 "Superfoods for Optimum Health." Let's see if I can remember them all:
GARY NULL'S SUPERFOODS FOR OPTIMUM HEALTH:
1. Garlic
2. Onions
3. Carrots
4. Shitake Mushrooms
5. Whole grains
6. Beans and legumes
7. Oranges
8. Peppers
9. Ginger
10. Blueberries
11. Apples
12. Bananas
13. Leafy greens such as kale, collards, and spinach
14. Almonds
15. Soy products
Damn, I have a good memory. That's Gary Null's list of what are, in his opinion, the healthiest foods out there for reversing aging and preventing disease. I have to agree, it's a fairly good list. I just think it needs a few additions. So let's increase Gary Null's list up to a combined list of 20 foods, to provide a bit more variety:
DR. TOFUHEAD'S ADDITIONAL SUPERFOODS
16. Walnuts
17. Small fishes (sardines, anchovies, herring)
18. Grapes, including wine
19. Olive oil
20. Fresh herbs, such as: oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, marjoram, parsley, cilantro, tarragon, etc.
Are you seeing a pattern here? I am. You can distill this food list down a bit to a more simple concept: A HEALTHY DIET IS PRIMARILY VEGETARIAN, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. Think "Mediterranean." Gary Null waxes poetic on how healthy the food is in coastal Italy. I'd have to add Greece as the country I've been to with the healthiest food. Everything you've seen above is abundant in Mediterranean diets.
OTHER RELATED ISSUES AND QUESTIONS:
1. To cook or not to cook? Contrary to what you might hear from "raw food" experts, Gary Null and I are in agreement that you can cook these superfoods with little impact on their nutritional value. And if you cook them in healthy oils such as olive, canola, safflower, or walnut, you can enhance their nutritional impact.
2. What about meat? I personally don't think a healthy diet has to be devoid of meat. I do agree with Gary that commercial meats are full of preservatives, hormones, antibiotics, and pathogenic bacteria, as well as fat. But nowadays, there are great alternatives. In short,
HOW TO MAKE YOUR MEAT HEALTHY:
-Buy free range, hormone-free meat when possible.
-Stick to lean meats. These include skinless chicken breasts, turkey "white meat," and lean cuts of "the other white meat," i.e. pork. Lean pork cuts include pork tenderloin, pork chops, and ham. Some beef cuts like flank steak, strip steak, and beef tenderloin are fairly lean as well. Buffalo is another good choice.
-Avoid preserved meat with sodium nitrates, nitrites, and sodium benzoate. Even if you like salami and sausage, you can get these without the preservatives. But you might need to go to a health food store.
-Keep your portions small. Avoid the 22-ounce T-bone steak.
3. What about dairy? Gary Null is just plain wrong when he states that dairy products cause "mucus." He should know better- that myth was debunked years ago. I think dairy is fine, just keep your cheese portions on the small side and choose less fatty cheeses such as mozzarella, feta, and goat cheeses when possible. If you drink milk, choose hormone-free organic milk if you can afford it.
4. Should I get a juicer? I think juicers are wonderful, and they are a great way to get many servings of fruits and vegetables at one time. You lose some of the fiber, but few of the nutrients, when you have juice as opposed to whole fruits and veggies. I'm going to do a whole blog on juice and juicers soon, so more on that later-
Any questions?